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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-05962

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing the recommendations of the Scottish Parliamentary Working Group on Tenement Maintenance in relation to owners (a) in tenements forming owners' associations, (b) and building reserve funds and (c) and five-yearly building condition reports, which it committed to support through voluntary and incremental change until legislation is in place.

The Scottish Law Commission have accepted a reference from the Scottish Government, commissioning project work to review the law of the tenement in Scotland and to make recommendations regarding the establishment of compulsory owners’ associations, building reserve funds and building inspections.

The Scottish Government has commissioned research on repair costs and the viability of owners’ associations, and engaged with stakeholders including tenement owners regarding compulsory factoring.

Separately, the Scottish Government will be publishing a public consultation on a new housing standard for Scotland in the course of 2022 which will inform plans for future legislation. We will also be circulating draft guidance for private landlords on changes to the repairing standard which come into force in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-06157

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) has received for evictions and civil proceedings for each rule in each (a) quarter and (b) year since 1 December 2017, and, of these, how many have received a hearing.

Question reference: S6O-00742

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding how its international development programme can support the sharing of vaccines and help to tackle the reported vaccine apartheid in the global south.

Question reference: S6W-05750

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has completed its consideration of how to complete the review of the tax treatment of short-term lets; whether the review is complete, and whether it will (a) publish the review or (b) outline the timetable for completing the review.

During the COVID-19 pandemic we prioritised work on the Short-term lets Licensing Order and Amendment Regulations for short-term let control areas. This enabled the statutory instruments for these to be considered by the Scottish Parliament in this session and meant the review of the tax treatment of short-term lets was deferred.

We intend to recommence the tax treatment review in the coming months to ensure that short-term lets make an appropriate contribution to the communities they operate in.

Question reference: S6W-05774

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to audit the quality of past energy efficiency and retrofit works, and what its plans are to review works where it is found that PAS 2035 standards have not been met.

We require projects funded as part of our fuel poverty schemes including Local Authority Area Based Schemes, Warmer Homes Scotland and the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund to comply with all relevant building regulations, retrofit standards and guarantee requirements. The PAS 2035 standard has applied since July 2021 and retrofit installers must now work to this specification.

PAS 2035 standardises the fabric first approach to retrofit and installation of measures by installers, not the quality or effectiveness of the energy efficiency product measures themselves. As for audits and inspections then these are carried out by TrustMark which is the approval scheme for PAS 2035 and involves 10% desktop audits and 10% onsite audits. The work completed in a property is lodged into the TrustMark Data Warehouse where records of the improvement works are held identifying all aspects of the design and installation with all supporting warranties required for the work. In the event that the standards have not been met then TrustMark working with the Scheme Providers will take the necessary steps to address this through their Operating Framework and deliver remediation and redress where required.. This is also underpinned by access to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman where disputes need to be escalated.

Question reference: S6W-05775

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will require compliance with PAS 2035 standards for its energy efficiency and retrofit delivery programmes.

Question reference: S6W-05703

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings identified in the High Rise Inventory are classed as student accommodation.

Question reference: S6W-05685

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation date for the revised Affordable Housing Investment Benchmarks.

Question reference: S6W-05658

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when owners of homes with combustible cladding will have access to a compensation and remediation scheme.

Our building by building approach aims to offer reassurance and our priority is always to secure the safety of people in their own homes. Inspections are underway and we expect the first completed reports soon.

We expect that the majority of buildings will be shown to be safe, but where issues are found, then we will seek the most appropriate solutions to remediation. We urge other parties, such as developers, to continue to play their part where construction is found to be unsafe.

Question reference: S6W-05659

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will write to the construction industry setting a deadline for agreement of a fully-funded plan of action for remediation of unsafe cladding on (a) high-rise and (b) 11 to 18 metre-high buildings.

We work with stakeholders regularly including with our Cladding Stakeholder Group to ensure all appropriate solutions are considered for homeowners and residents in affected buildings.

The Single Building Assessment programme in Scotland will not have a restriction to 18m and above. The UK Government's recent announcement for England does focus solely on buildings over 18m. Whilst we welcome the announcement from the UK Government about ensuring that the polluter pays, a collective approach is needed to secure reparations from developers and the wider construction industry.